Construction Laborers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,853
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$7,737
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,428
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$46,590
Kept after tax
$38,853
Worth in national money
$38,428
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Arizona pays construction laborers around $46,590 at the midpoint, 30 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Construction laborers ranks 358 among 491 occupations Arizona publishes pay for.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $46,590, tax leaves $38,853, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $38,428 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $47,910, since top earners drag the number up.
- For construction laborers the Arizona median is $46,590, ranking 30 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 358 of 491 in Arizona places construction laborers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Because Arizona sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for construction laborers — median $46,590 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $38,853 retained, $38,428 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $47,910 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Construction Laborers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,930 |
| This salary | $46,590 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arizona | $38,853 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,615 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,339 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,641 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,828 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arizona earn less than $46,590. The published range is $36,770 up to $60,930, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $38,853, from $46,590, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 358 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,428 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 358.
- Reported values are medians; for construction laborers in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,770 to $60,930. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,853 from $46,590. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 358 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,428, worked from $46,590, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Arizona address, on work sitting at 358 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,770 and the top tenth $60,930, so most people doing this work in Arizona sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Arizona costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $38,428 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $38,853.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,770 to $60,930) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $38,428 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,853 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.